Educational device.



W. N. HULL.

EDUCATIONAL DEVICE. APPLICATION 'FILED 00T. 4, 1911.

1,043,596. Patented N0'v.5,19112.

l MI 1.110l

UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM N. HULL-OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

EDUCATIONAL DEVICE.

To all whom t may concern.

Be it lrnown that I, WILLIAM NnwnLL HULL, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and Stateof California, have invented a new and useful Educational Device, ofwhich the following is a specification.

An object of this invention is to provide apparatus for teaching youngchildren at home, between the ages of two and six howV to draw, write,read, spell, count, add, subtract, multiply, divide and measure; and howto tell colors while at play.

This invention relates to an apparatus including printed cards in a boxhaving compartments; and an object is to provide apparatus of simple,compact and convenient construction. and arrangement whereby childrenmay be induced and enabled with a spirit of play to x in their minds andbecome thoroughly familiar with the forms of letters, words, figures andobjects, with minimum confusion and maximum ease and convenience ofcontrol by the parent or other teacher who may be unable to devote fulltime and attention to the work of teaching the child.

The invention relates to the construction and arrangement of apparatusas set forth in the subjoined detail description.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view oi apparatus constructed in accordancewith this invention and open for general use showing the compartments inthe box body with inscriptions indicating the character of the contentsof such compartments. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the boxreversed and partly open. Fig. 3 is a view of the reversed box fullyopen and ready tor use. liig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectionaldetail illustrating a part of the lid construction. Fig. 5 shows theopposite sides of one of the cards 14.

The apparatus inay be made in different forms and dimensions, but willbe described here as in the form at present deemed most desirable.

Fig. 1. The rectangular box body 1 is sixteen inches long, ten incheswide and two inches deep, and is provided with a double lid comprisingthe upper lid 2 and the lower lid 3, said upper lid being hinged at 4 tothe lower lid between the edges of the lower lid and comparatively nearthe free edge of Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 4, 1911.

Patented Nov. 5, 19712. Serial N0.` 652,851.

said lower lid. The upper lid 2 is equal in width tothe portion of thelower lid between t-he upper lid hinge 4 and the hinged edge of thelower lid 3 which is hinged by the hinge 5` to one of the upper walls ofthe box 1. Flexible stays which may beribbons or cords o'any suitablecharacter are connected with the. free edge of the lid 2 and with thewalls of the box 1 near the hinged edge of the lower`lid l3, nand are ofsuch length that when the top lid is fully opened, as shown-in Fig. 3,the top lid will be supported ,in slanting position by the stays 6. Themlids are vprovided on their under sides with card rack strips 7, 8, 9and 10, the strips 7, 8 and 9 being on the under face of theV under lidand the strip 10 being on the under faceot the upper lid. Said stripsare practically the same construction 'being preferably made of toughcheck cardboard one inch' in width and extending from end to end ofthelids. The strips are glued as indicated'at 11 in Figu4 to the lid forabout three-quarters of an inch leaving free from the lid one-quarter ofan inch at the edge of the lid opposite thehinged edge of thelid,jsothat when either lid is raised, its under side will'be providedwith a `groove 1 2 running along the face of the lid into which theedges of cards`l3, 14, 15 and 16 may be slipped, said cards may be ofany desired character, the. cards 13 having drawings, cards 14, words,cards 15, sentences, and cards 16, figures, for instance.

Then it is desired to concentrate a childs attention upon a particularlesson, the lower lid withits superposed upper lid will be opened togive access to the compartments 17, 18 and 19 from which may be selectedtwo cards as the cards 13 and 14 shown in Fig. 3, and then the lower lidwill be closed, the box reversed and the upper lid be opened as shown inFig. 3; the upper lid is thus held as' an easel to support the cards 13and 14 while the upper tace of the lower lid 3 is in position to serveas a table-top upon which a sheet of paper 2O may be laid in convenientposition for a child to draw and write upon. Then the child may make thedrawing and write the word shown by the cards in the rack Jformed by thestrip 10.

When it is desired to allow the children to play with all the cards, thebox will again be reversed and opened, as shown in Fig. l; the upper lidwill drop back, thus forming a support `to hold the lower lid in easelposition as shown. The strips 7, 8 and 9 are preferably of differentcolors, one being blue, another pink, and the third green, these colorsbeing selected because they are mild to the eye. Other colors, however,may be employed within the discret-ion of the constructor. These threestrips not only assist in teaching the children to distinguish shades ofcolor, but also enable three children to play independently atI the sametime7 each one being assigned a single rack in which to placel hiscards. The lower lid when thus raised is prevented from falling backwardexcept asV to the proper slant by the upper lid which is slanted outwardto rest on the table-top or other support, not shown, on which the boxis placed. The ribbons 6 may also be of different colors, thus adding tothe variety and information with which the child is to be familial-ized.

The cards may be provided upon one side with printed words 2l and on theother side with the corresponding script word 22, so

that the child may by turning the card lia-- Y miliarize himself withboth forms of the word. The box may also contain o-ther paraphernalia,as a six-inch paper ruler, not shown, in inches marked around to enablethe child to understand inches, and

how to make them, and at the same time distinguish colors.

I claim:

1. An educational device comprising a double-lidded box, the lids beingsuperposed, the upper lid being hinged to the lower lid near the freeedge thereof and adapted to forni. a support for the lower lid when thelids are opened.

2. An educational device comprising a doubleelidded box, the lids beingsuperpcsed, the upper lid being hinged to the lower lid near the freeedge thereof and adapted to form a support for the lower lid when thelids are opened, and means on the inner face of the lower lid to holdcards.

3. An educational device comprising a double-lidded box, the lids beingsuperposed, the lower lid when closed forn'ling a table-top and theupper lid forming an easel, and means to hold the upper lid aslant, saidupper lid being provided with a cardboard strip glued at its lower edgeto the upper lid and free at its upper edge from the upper lid.

Ll. A double-lidded box having lower and upper lids, the lower lidforming a table while the upper lid is thrown back at a slant, ribbonsto hold the upper lid at such slant, and strips glued across the surfaceof the upper lid behind which may be placed cards.

In testimony whereof, have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles,California, this 28th day of September, 1911.

vWILLIAM N. HULL. In presence of JAMEs R. Town-SEND. L. BELLE RICE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

